Miss Ellie Wilcox was known
all over her small town of
Bellhop, Mississippi as the lady who could see the future and tell you
your
fortune. Nearly everyone in town valued her gift for knowing what was
to come. Miss
Ellie Wilcox sat in her living room and concentrated deeply while the
incense
burned and the candles flickered.Mr.
Madison was a steady customer and a very superstitious man.He didn’t make a move
without going to see
the Fortune Lady first.He
was a highly
respected businessman in town who owned three stores which all did very
well.Mr. Madison
sat for his
reading-his third one this week.

“What is it you are looking
to know Mr. Madison?”

“I’m afraid the older I get
Miss Ellie, the more
superstitious I have become. I got a bug in my head that my wife is
going with
another man. Look in the cards and let me know if that’s true.”

“Miss Ida is untrue? Give me
your hand. I feel very strong
vibes and they are telling me your wife is evil.” Ellie laid out her
tarot
cards and looking at them she got a somber face. She looked deep into
Mr.
Madison’s eyes. “You are not going to like what I see in these cards.
Your wife
is having an affair and the cards tell me she is plotting against you.I see a man, a tall man
with dark hair and a
mustache. He is not to be trusted. Does such a man work for you Mr.
Madison?”

“Kelsey Brant.He
is one of my Managers.”

“Watch
him.He’s
deceiving you.”

“What else do you see Miss
Ellie?Whatever it
is, I can take the truth.”

“I see a child. A little
girl. Is your wife pregnant?”

“Yes, she is.”

“She is going to have a girl.”

“I always wanted a daughter.”

“I see
something else. I see papers. A contract, I think. Someone
is going to make you a very big offer in the weeks ahead.”

“What kind of offer?”

“I’m not sure but it’s not
what you think. I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay. Thank you Miss
Ellie. I will be back in a
few days.”

“That will be $75.00 for
today Mr. Madison.”

“Sure, no problem. I brought
cash for you.”

“Yes, I prefer cash.”

Mr. Madison walked out of her
parlor and into the sunny
streets of Bellhop, Mississippi.
His next stop was the diner since it was almost lunchtime and he was
pretty
starved. When he took a seat at his favorite table, Wilbur came over
and joined
him.

“Did y’all go see Miss Ellie
again?”

“I sure did Wilbur.”

“What she tell y’all this
time?”

“That I have enemies and one
of them is my wife.”

“Do you believe all that
hocus pocus she tells you?”

“It is not hocus pocus. She
has given me some good
information over the years and that is why my business is always
thriving.”

“You really are
superstitious, aren’t you?”

“I sure am.”

“I wouldn’t get too carried
away with that kind of thing.
Why would your wife be giving you the business anyway?”

“She’s a sneaky lady my wife.
I’m going to find out what
she is up to.”

“I hope you know what you are
doing Sam.”

“Don’t worry Wilbur I know
what I’m doing. Trust me.”

“Okay. Let’s order our lunch.”

Wilbur and Sam had been
business partners for years. They
had two department stores in Bellhop and they were growing bigger all
the time.
Now Sam and Wilbur were thinking of expanding and opening another store
in
Hattiesburg. Yes, business was good. Sam dug into his sandwich and
drank his
coffee. Wilbur did the same. After lunch, they both returned to the
department
store. Sam found a letter in his pile of mail that looked unusually
interesting. He opened it and found a contract inside. Just what Ms.
Ellie had
told him in her reading.

He read the contract and
discovered that the Atley Appliance
Stores wanted to partner with him and expand their business as well.
The
contract seemed like it was legitimate but Sam was suspicious. He
hadn’t spoken
to anyone at Atley Appliance Stores. Who sent this contract, he
wondered. He
had to call his lawyer, Clay Bacon, and see what he had to say about
it. But
old Miss Ellie was right on the money once again. She was probably
right about
his wife Ida as well.That
was something
he would have to investigate and he would have to keep a sharp eye out
for his
wife. Sometimes some women just can’t be trusted. His wife Ida did have
a
devious streak in her. His Mom never liked Ida but he was too in love
with her
to ever see her bad qualities. Too many times she had gone behind his
back and
pulled stunts on him. Like the time she put a down payment on a small
yacht
without telling him and the man selling the yacht wanted the remainder
of the
money up front within a week – money that Sam simply did not have at
the time. Things
like that made him nervous about Ida.

His attorney, Clay Bacon
hurried over to see him. Clay was
always in a rush. He walked briskly, he talked fast, his eyes twitched
a lot,
and he constantly smoked one cigarette after another. But he had a keen
mind
and knew the law well.

“Good afternoon Sam. Let me
see that contract you
mentioned to me on the telephone.”

“Here it is, Clay. I knew
nothing about this ’til this
envelope arrived today. I had no negotiations with these people.”

“Hmm, seems unlikely to me
that a company would just send
you a contract to sign without having some kind of negotiations with
you first.
Let me look this over for a few minutes. I smell a rat here.”

“Want some coffee?”

“Sure would. Coffee is good
for my nerves.”

“Still getting those bad
headaches Clay?”

“Yeah, I am. I made an
appointment with the doctor today.”

“I saw Miss Ellie today. She
predicted that something like
this would happen to me. She’s always right in her predictions. She
told me to
beware of my wife Ida too.”

“You
listen to Miss Ellie, don’t you?”

“She has never failed me. She
always tells me my future
and it happens just like she says.”

“I went to see her once and
she told me I was going to
have kidney problems and I did. I guess she does know a thing or two
about the
future. But I kind of get the creeps from that sort of thing,” muttered
Clay
smoking his cigarette and reading the contract.

“What
about that contract Clay?”

“Well, I’ll tell you this
much right now. Don’t sign it.
This looks like some kind of a scam. I have to do some research and I
am going
to take this contract with me. I’ll get back to you soon.”

“See you later Clay.”

The day passed by and Sam
drove home in his Mercedes-Benz.
He pulled in his driveway and saw Kelsey’s car parked there. Sam put
the key in
the door and entered his home. The
light
was on in the living room, and the laptop was on, but there was no one
there.
He heard voices coming from his study and he went to see who was there
and he
listened at the door.

“Look Kelsey, we put this
scheme together and once he gets
that contract, he will think it is a good deal and he will sign it. But
once he
does, and he hasn’t read the fine print, we own his department stores
and you
become the new President of the company. And I will divorce Sam and you
and I
will be filthy rich together,” said Ida, leaning over to kiss Kelsey on
the
lips.Kelsey kissed
her back and he held
her for a while. Then he said, “All of our dreams are going to come
true Ida. I
will be the big man in town and not Sam.”

Sam backed away and tiptoed
from the door and went
outside. He took out his cell phone and called his attorney Clay Bacon.
“Clay,
I got to see you. Can we meet at the boat house?”

“Sure, about ten minutes or
so?”

“Yeah, that’s perfect.”

“I’ll see you in ten minutes
Sam.”

Sam started up his Mercedes
Benz and drove away. Ida never
noticed.She was
too busy kissing Kelsey
and making plans.Sam
met Clay at the
boathouse.

“Clay, I got big trouble. My
wife Ida and Kelsey are the
ones who sent that contract and they are trying to take my business and
take my
money.Miss Ellie
was right about
everything.”

“Take it easy okay. There’s a
lot of ways to skin a cat. Good
thing going here is you did not sign anything. What we have to do now
is prove
that that contract was a scam of your wife’s and Kelsey’s and then we
turn the
tables on them.”

“Okay. I trust you to help me
with this.”

“Don’t worry pal, I will.
Just sit tight and don’t let
anyone know you’re on to them. Get my drift?”

“I sure do Clay. Thank you.”

“No problem Sam.”

With that Sam drove over to
see Miss Ellie Wilcox again. He
told her what had happened and asked her to tell him the future again.
He just
had to know what would happen in his life.

“Miss Ellie! I need your
services again! It’s an
emergency!”

“I thought you would be back
soon. You got an envelope
today with some kind of legal document, yes?”

“Yes,
Miss Ellie, that’s right and I’m being set up by
Kelsey and my wife.”

“Yes, there is deceit all
around you. You must be strong.
But there is someone, a stranger who is going to intercede for you.”

“A stranger?”

“Yes, you will meet her
tomorrow. She will be the answer
to your prayers.”

“What about Clay? I can trust
him, can’t I?”

“Yes, Clay is a good friend
and he is giving you good
counsel.”

“Thank you Miss Ellie. How
much will that be?”

“Twenty-five dollars.”

“Here you go Miss Ellie.”

“Wait one moment. I have a
lucky coin to give you. It
dates back to the Roman days. It will give you luck and it will protect
you.”

“Thank you, Miss Ellie. I’ll
keep it in my pocket.”

“Godspeed
Mr. Madison.”

“Good-night
Miss Ellie.”

Sam was at his office bright
and early the next morning. Wilbur
came by and they sat and talked for a moment. Wilbur was shocked at
what Sam
told him about the contract and about Kelsey and Ida.

“She really is going behind
your back. Gosh, I never would
have guessed she was that kind of a woman. I guess her and Kelsey are
having an
affair after all just like Miss Ellie told you.”

“Yes, I think so which makes
me wonder whose baby she is
carrying.”

“Wow! You got problems Sam.
If there is anything I can do,
just let me know.That wife of yours is a witch!”

“She sure is. Help me keep an
eye on Kelsey.”

“Sure thing. No problem.
Consider it done.”

“You’re a good friend.”

“So are you.”

Wilbur took a stroll around
the store and pretended to
bump into Kelsey. Kelsey seemed nervous about talking to him and kept
trying to
walk away while Wilbur addressed him.

“Say Kelsey, you doing okay
here?”

“Yes, yes of course. Why
wouldn’t I?”

“Just asking. Making sure the
store is running in tip top
shape as always.”

“I am one of your best
managers and you know that.”

“Do I now?”

“Yes, you do Wilbur.”

“Consider yourself a loyal
employee here?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Not
one of those folks who have their eyes set on bigger
pastures?”

“Well, of course I have high
goals set for myself.”

“Like maybe owning your own
store someday.”

“Maybe, yeah sure, why not.”

“You wouldn’t manipulate to
do that would you now Kelsey?”

“Am I being accused of
something? What’s with all these
questions?”

“No, just having a
conversation with you. See you later
Kelsey.”

Kelsey was quite
uncomfortable after talking with Wilbur.
What did he know about his plans?Were
they already on to him? Kelsey finished up his work and headed off to
see Ida
for some more plotting and scheming. Meanwhile, a rather tall,
attractive
brunette with big green eyes and long flowing hair, with a headband to
keep it
back, dressed in a white cowboy style pants suit, took a seat in Sam’s
office
and waited for him to come back. She had information that would send
Kelsey and
Ida both packing.

Sam was surprised to see this
pretty woman sitting in his
office but then he thought of what Miss Ellie said about a stranger
helping him
out.

“Can I help you with
something Miss?”

“Miss Jordan, yes, Mr.
Madison but I’m here to help you as
well. My grandfather owns Atley Appliance Stores and we just found out
that
your Kelsey Brant had a somewhat disreputable lawyer draw up a contract
saying
that we wanted to partner with you. That is not true and if my
grandfather did
want to partner with you, he would have called you on the telephone and
set up
a meeting. We don’t want any trouble. I think you should know that your
employee is giving you the business.”

“Thank you, Miss Jordan. I
have my lawyer working on this
and we know that Kelsey is behind this fraudulent contract. I will deal
with
him immediately and I’m sorry if you and your grandfather were upset by
all of
this. Lord knows I’m very upset especially since I found out yesterday
that my
wife and Kelsey are having an affair and scheming this whole thing
behind my
back to try and steal my business away from me. I sincerely thank you
for
coming over and I hope you might oblige me in trapping both Kelsey and
my wife
into a confession. Would you help me Miss Jordan?”

“Certainly Mr. Madison.”

“Call me Sam.”

“Call me Prudence.”

That night, Sam, Wilbur,
Clay, and Prudence set up their
own sting operation. But they needed Miss Ellie to come along. Her
psychic
abilities would be most useful in trapping both Kelsey and Ida. So both
Miss
Ellie and Prudence made believe they were investing in Madison-Bellman
Department Stores. Miss Ellie placed the call to Kelsey.

“Mr. Kelsey, my friend and I
would like to meet and
discuss investing in Madison-Bellman’s Department Stores. We hear you
might be
the new owner?”

“Oh, Alex. Yes he is putting
this deal with Atley Alliance
Stores together for us.”

“Isn’t that wonderful! Could
you meet us at Minnie’s
Seafood House?”

“Certainly. What time?”

“7:30.”

“We’ll be there.”

At 7:30, Clay, Sam, and
Wilbur were waiting along with
Sheriff Brownstone and his deputy.They
sat in the booth directly in back of where Miss Ellie and Prudence were
sitting.Kelsey and
Ida didn’t see them as the booths
were high and Sam had a big Cowboy hat on to hide his face.So did Clay and Wilbur.
They ate their fried
oysters and listened to the conversation. They had a bug planted
underneath the
booth where Miss Ellie and Prudence were sitting.

“Miss Belmont, so nice to meet you.”
said Kelsey, sipping on his ice cold beer.

“I have guided many people to
their future. Lizzy and I
are planning our own future and we understand you are going to take
over
Madison-Bellman Department Stores.We
want in on the whole deal. We have cash to give you for our
investment,” said
Miss Ellie (known to them as Miss Belmont) taking out an envelope from her pocketbook. She spread the
$100
dollar bills across the table in front of Kelsey and Ida. Ida played
with her
necklace and seemed almost frightened that Miss Belmont had this inside
information.

“How did you know about our
takeover of the company?” she
questioned.

Miss Ellie took out her tarot
cards. “See these cards.
They tell me everything I need to know.”

“And we want in on this deal.
We want to make money along
with you,” said Prudence (known to them as Miss Lizzy) taking a bite of her shrimp cocktail.

“We can’t believe this. The
news isn’t out yet and we have
investors. Well, you have to keep this all a secret ladies. I’ll count
your
cash and we’ll be in touch,” said Kelsey. Just then Sheriff Brownstone
stood up
and his tall physique towered over their table.

“I don’t think you’ll be
taking over any company, Kelsey,
Ida. You’re both under arrest for fraud.Let’s go!” With that his deputy helped him handcuff
Kelsey and Ida and
Sam watched as his wife was taken away. He sat down with Miss Ellie.

“How can I thank you!”

“I will read your cards.”
With that Miss Ellie spread the
tarot deck on the table and she saw great things ahead for Sam.

“This card tells me you will
soon run for office and you
will be representing us in Congress.Your business will expand and Wilbur will run it for
you. You will meet
a new woman in your life. Much happiness is ahead for you.”

For Sam, his whole life was in
the hands of the Fortune
Lady.

Celine Rose Mariotti
was born in Derby, CT and is a lifelong resident of Shelton, CT. Her first poem
was published in 1991. Since then her work has appeared in many literary
magazines around the USA as well as in India, Australia, Thailand, Scotland,
and England.Her latest book is a young
adult science fiction book entitled, “I Have a Friend on Jupiter!” published by
WriteWordsInc.com. It is also available as an e-Book.

“Minister’s Shoes,” a mystery published by
WriteWordsInc.com, is the first in her Rev. Castle series.Other titles written by Ms. Mariotti include “Adventures
on Capitol Hill–The Kidnapping of Senator Andy Thompson” and “The Murder of
Secretary Judd Cane.”